Come Away With Me
by mushroomkitty
Summary: Josie has been having a series of strange dreams ever since she was a child, but now as she is getting ready to graduate from high school they are becoming more and more vivid, waking her up at all hours of the night. Her life takes a turn for the worse when a boy appears in the backyard in the middle of a thunderstorm. Can Josie figure things out before its to late?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_A lush forest sprawled out around her, bare feet sinking into the soft carpet of dead leaves that coated the ground. Ferns and various other exotic plans grew in abundance all around her and she ran a hand over the petals of a massive flower, dew coming off on her fingers._

_The air was crisp and the sun that was able to make it through the leaves of the towering trees was warm on her face. A shadow flashed by her line of vision and something drew her to it with such force that she was soon sprinting through the forest at top speed, the shadow always a few feet too far away._

_Branches whipped at her face and roots seemed to appear in her way of their own will to trip her, but she ran on. A bright swath of light pooled out in front of her, letting her know that a clearing was ahead. She burst through the underbrush coming to a swift stop, the tips of her toes peeking over the edge of a massive cliff._

_She had slid down to the ground to stop her momentum, the rocks that littered the edge of the cliffs cutting into her palms, warm blood trickled down her arm as she sat up and looked out across a vast ocean, its waves smashing against the rock as if the ocean was challenging the integrity of the cliff face._

_She looked to the sky and all around but the shadow was gone, wincing as a sharp pain stabbed her hands she turned down to examine her raw hands. She began to pluck small bits of rock from her hand, her face screwed up in pain as she worked._

_"Let me get that for you." A voice whispered in her ear, she wanted to turn, but something kept her face looking down at her bloody palms. Tanned calloused hands reached around her in a warm hug, and a chin rested at the top of her head. The hands working expertly to remove the stones from her wounds, he worked quickly and soon the throbbing pain was bearable._

_"Thank you." She mumbled her voice no more than a whisper as she was frozen in place. "Will you stay with me?" the voice asked, he sounded sad; A tone that wrenched at her heart. She wanted to answer him, to tell this stranger that she would stay with him forever if he wanted but she was unable to open her mouth now._

_"Please, stay with me!" he cried out, the warmth leaving her body and she felt as though she was being launched through space._

Josie woke with a gasp still in her throat, sweat beaded her brow and her hand went over her heart. She had that dream constantly, and she had never once been able to answer the voice. She looked at the clock, a groan escaping her. "Figures I have the dream on a school night." She huffed, the clock reading three forty five AM. Josie re-positioned her pillows and rolled onto her side, forcing her eyes closed.

Just as she always did when the dream plagued her, though recently the blurry images where getting sharper, greens more vivid, and smells that lingered with her long after she woke. Josie absently scratched her palms and as always, they felt sore. "I need to stop reading so many books." She mumbled to herself, already drifting back to sleep.

Her alarm went off at six, the sun not even up yet. "Nooooooo." She whined into her pillow, her hand seeking out the snooze button. She smacked down on it and before she could doze off her mother clicked the light on. "Up and at em'." She said, too joyously for so early in the morning. "Come on, you can do it! Only three more days of school left and then you're done with high school forever!" she said, practically prancing out of the room.

Josie rolled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom, starting her routine as always. Her long black hair was a tangled mess, and it took her a good amount of time to get the tangles out. Once it was brushed out it reached past her shoulder blades and ended in soft, large, ringlets at the bottom. Tired brown eyes stared back at her from the mirror, and an olive complexion was paled in the bright bathroom light.

Getting dressed went much quicker, a simple graphic Tee and a pair of worn jeans was all she needed. She slipped on her well-worn sneakers and feeling a little more awake made her way to the kitchen where her mother had set out some toast and was cleaning up the mess from her father's breakfast.

"Dad have to leave early today?" Josie asked, sitting down on a bar stool and leaning on the counter, a yawn escaping her. Josie wasn't one for breakfast, eating so early in the morning made her ill. She never knew what it was, but she guessed it was partially due to the toothpaste flavor.

"Yeah, busy day at the office and all." Tina said, stowing the rest of the dishes in the dish washer. Josie nibbled on the edge of her toast, not really all too keen on eating it. "Come on, eat up. It will help you get going." Tina said in her usual chipper voice.

Josie let out a sigh "Mom, there is no need to 'get going' I go to school and do nothing all day anymore. All seniors are just going because we haven't been kicked out yet." Josie explained, putting the toast down and snagging a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Ok, ok. Have fun doing nothing then." She said, shooing Josie out of the kitchen. Not wanting to get there earlier than she had to Josie wasted time putting things into a binder to keep her preoccupied all day. Paper, pencils, and a book were all she really needed. Just in case her friends decided to skip today.

She walked to the front door and called out to her mom as she walked out "See you later today." Her mom replied with a small "Bye hon." And Josie was out the door. The sky was beginning to turn pink as Josie drove up to the school. Kids where milling about the front, some of them were sitting on the picnic tables and others were leaning against the walls.

"Three days till freedom." She said, pulling into her usual parking space.

* * *

The school day was short and she spent the rest of her day sitting on the family room couch in her pajamas, a warm laptop in her lap as she surfed around the web. Her mother wouldn't be home till later that night, she worked a large portion of the night shift at the hospital as a nurse. Her father would be home around ten, so she planned on throwing a frozen pizza in the oven.

Outside the sky was beginning to darken, thick black clouds blanketing the sun from view. Josie enjoyed a good storm, the wind and rain always lulling her to sleep. Not ten minutes after the storm started had she dozed off, her head leaning against the back of the couch.

Thunder ripped through the air, making the whole house shake and the windows to rattle in their frames. Josie bolted awake, everything pitch black. The power had gone out "Great." She grumbled, fumbling around in the dark till she made it to the laundry room.

A few minutes later a flashlight and a couple candles illuminated the living room, Josie sitting in front of the sliding glass door that led out to the back porch. Lightning streaked through the sky, the bright flash startling her enough that she lurched away from the glass, thunder booming thought the charged air again.

A slight glow was coming from the forest behind her house, fearful of fire she went to grab her phone when she felt a familiar pull. A pull that was so alien, but so familiar, one that she could never resist no matter how hard she tried. The sliding glass door yanked itself open when the wind caught on it and torrents of rain soaked the carpet, but Josie ignored this and walked out into the rain.

Her feet where bare and they sunk deep into the wet grass, she felt in a trance as she walked towards the forest, towards the strange glow. The rain was like a thousand tiny needles, sending chills up her spine. She rubbed her arms, wishing she had grabbed an umbrella when she caught sight of someone standing in the rain.

It looked to be a boy, his chest bare, and the rest of him clad in some strange assortment of leaves. 'Oh god I hope I haven't found some weird tree person.' She thought to herself. Josie took a few steps closer and the boy turned around, his vivid green eyes seeming to glow in the dark light. "What are you doing out here?" Josie asked.

"Will you fly away with me?" He asked, extending his hand to her, lightning flashed across the sky in the distance making her jump. Josie was confused, and a little frightened. This boy had to be crazy. "I have to go back inside." She said, the boy dropped his arm, his face crestfallen under a tangle of damp blonde hair.

"Please?" he asked, seeming so innocent. Josie felt drawn to him, felt that pull again but she resisted. A voice rang out through the air. "Josie! Josie where are you!" it was her father and she turned back towards the house to see his silhouette framed in the door frame. She turned around to say no to the boy but he was already gone, not a single trace of him anywhere.

'How strange.' She thought, rushing back to the house, mud sloshing up onto her legs. "What on earth where you doing out there?" her father asked, a dry towel ready in his hands. Josie gladly took it and began to dry herself off. "I thought I saw fire after a lightning strike." She explained, teeth chattering. "I didn't want the house to burn down."

Her father let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "A fire wouldn't last long in this kind of storm Josie." His face was at that midway between angry and amused and Josie was glad it turned towards amused instead. "You have to think about these things." He patted her on top of the head like he did when she was a little girl.

"Sorry Daddy. Let me get changed and I will get some dinner ready for us." She said, deciding not to tell her father about a strange boy standing in their back yard. She didn't want to give him any more reason to worry. She could tell he was dead tired.

Dinner went by fast and her father fell asleep on the couch, intending to wake up when her mother got home from work. Josie went to her room and curled up in bed, still fighting off the chill from the rain.

That night she dreamed of a wild eyed boy rushing through the forest at her side, always slipping in and out of her line of vision. She woke in the middle of the night, covered in sweat and very frustrated.

"Stupid boy." She grumbled, rolling over.

|| Hello and welcome to the first chapter of my second Peter Pan story "Come away with me" This has nothing to do with my previous story "The lost girl" I hope you enjoy this new adventure as it plays out. So welcome new and old to the strange tale of Peter and Josie.||


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next school day was the same as the last, the hours ticking by as teachers showed them old documentaries and some Disney movies if they got lucky. All the seniors where antsy and by the time the bell rang for them to be released it was practically a stampede. Josie hung back with all the underclassmen, not wanting to get stuck in the traffic jam the school parking lot was bound to become.

"I'm going to miss you Josie." Her friend Tyler said, he was a tall boy with the most unruly brown hair Josie had ever seen. "You won't miss me that much." She said, removing his heavy arm from her shoulder with a shrug. "Awww don't say stuff like that." He said, making a mock pouting face.

"You need a ride home?" she asked, knowing all too well the reason why the boy had torn his eyes away from his long standing crush. "Very much so, its way hot outside and I don't want to walk." He said, patting Josie on the back.

"Alright, let's get going. The parking lot should be cleared out by now." Josie said, pushing the front doors to the schools open. People where milling about the front, waiting for their rides or just talking to friends, Josie weaved her way through them, Tyler close on her heels.

"I can't wait to get my license." He said, flopping down into the passenger seat of Josie's car. Josie got in on her own side after throwing her bag into the trunk. "You will get it soon enough." She said, turning the vehicle on and reversing.

The ride to Tyler's house was fairly silent, Tyler spending most of the time fiddling with her radio trying to find a heavy metal station. "You don't even like heavy metal." Josie grumbled, pulling into his driveway. His house was right next to a busy road and a car honked loudly at her for turning into the drive to slow.

"I know but I know it frustrates you." He said a bright smile on his face. Josie shook her head and waved to him as he got out. "See you tomorrow." He called out, trotting to his front door. Josie about to put her car in reverse when she saw Tyler's dog shoot out the front door, Tyler chasing after the small thing as it playfully dodged out of his way.

Josie got out of her car to help him, both of them rushing around the yard trying to catch the thing. Josie watched the dog sprint towards the road, fun turning into panic as she chased after it. She hit the pavement at top speed, a car swerved out of her way and she avoided tripping. Tyler was calling out her name and the loud crunch of metal made her look back.

The car that had swerved was stopped dead, a huge dent in its front. Tyler's dog had run back across the road and was standing by him in the yard. Tyler ran inside, and the driver seemed to be unconscious in the front seat. Josie ran across the road to Tyler's house, he ran back out, passing her by completely and ran to the car.

The next hour passed in a blur, the cops completely ignoring her as they fussed over the driver of the car. Josie finally figured she was allowed to go home and left. Tyler had long since vanished into his house and she figured he was in shock over the whole thing.

Back at her house her parents where gone, she figured her father was taking her mom out to dinner. Thursdays where the only night her mom and dad got off at the same time, shrugging she decided to heat up some leftover pizza.

Everything tasted rather bland, and the TV had nothing good on it, so Josie decided to go to bed. She was tired from the incident in the road anyway. Her head hit the pillow and she drifted off, her dreams going from the mundane and blurry, to very vivid.

_The air was fresh and crisp, water clung to everything and the ground was soaked through making her feet squelch into the dirt. Sweat beaded her brow, the warm sun causing the humidity to rise to an almost unbearable amount. _

_The aroma of flowers filled the air and she stalked quietly through the tree's trying to find the source. She felt as though someone was walking next to her, she felt no unease, just calm and accepting. All she knew was that the smell was wonderful and she needed to find the flowers._

_The foliage broke, opening up to a massive field filled to the brim with every kind of flower imaginable. Reds, blues, purples, all sprawling out at her feet and over rolling hills, it was a grand site to see and Josie wanted to go running through them._

_She took a step forward and a hand grasped her wrist. "You can't go." It said. She found, that this time, she could speak. "But it is so beautiful." She said, pulling closer to the edge of the valley. "I don't want to be lonely." The male voice said. _

"_Then come with me." She said, yanking free and rushing to the flowers. "Josie no!" the voice shouted._

Josie tumbled out of bed, the blankets wrapped around her legs. She groaned her head pounding. Untangling her legs seemed to take ages but as she was finishing up she noticed that a chilly breeze was blowing in through her window.

A chill ran up Josie's spine, that window wasn't open when she went to bed. Cautiously she peeked around her room. Everything was in its place, minus the leaves that seemed to have blown into her room while the window was open.

She searched around and found her old baseball bat in her closet from when she played softball as a kid. It wasn't much but it was something. Wind blew in and chilled her bare arms, causing her to turn towards it. Outside, illuminated by the back porch light was a familiar figure standing at the edge of the trees.

"That creeper was looking through my window!" she hissed under her breath, rushing down the steps and out the back sliding glass door, bat held at the ready to swing. "Hey, get out of my yard!" she snapped.

A smile flashed across the boy's face, his oddly glowing eyes glinting in the porch light. "You're going to hit me with that thing?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance of Josie's wrath. "Yes, if you don't get out of my yard you tree hugging creeper!" she snapped, taking a step closer.

The boy snorted in laughter and rushed forward. Before Josie knew it the bat hit the ground with a dull thud, the boy inches from her face, once calloused hand gripping her wrists still in the swing position. "Nice try." He said, Josie gasped, a mixture of surprise, embarrassment, and anger.

Anger won over. "Let go of me!" she snapped, knee launching upwards. The boy leapt back with unnatural grace, Josie could have sworn he stayed in the air longer than was normal. She figured it was the shadows toying with her eyes.

"Why on earth are you in my yard?" she asked, inching closer to the baseball bat lying prone on the ground. "Waiting for you to wake up." The boy said, sounding sad. Something connected in Josie's mind, something about this boy's voice. She couldn't quite place why it was so familiar though.

"I don't know you, why on earth would you be waiting for me to wake up." She said, a feeling of unease coming over her. The boy heaved a heavy sigh, arms falling to his sides "I've been lonely." He said simply "Will you fly away with me?" he said.

Josie gave him a weird look "Are you on drugs?" She asked, things seeming to make sense now. He was probably high on mushrooms right now. He rolled his eyes, an exasperated huff coming from his throat. "Please?" he asked, voice pleading.

It clicked in her mind then, the vivid dreams. The boy she could never see but could always hear. "I-I know you." She said, feeling confused as her brain tried to work it all out. A headache was forming and she wished it would just go away.

"I have been trying to contact you for a long time, but you have been ignoring me." He said, scowling at her. "Don't look at me like that." She said her heart rate spiking. This boy felt dangerous, but she felt drawn to him in a way. "Please fly away with me." He said, reaching out his hand.

Josie moved away from him a fraction of an inch afraid that something bad would happen. A slight breeze blew by, pulling her hair from her face and carrying the sweet smell of wild flowers. It was coming from the boy.

"You won't hurt me?" she asked cautiously, taking a step forward. "I promise." He said, a bright smile breaking out across her face as she touched his hand with her cool fingers. He snatched her up, a scream about to leave her when she realized that the ground was swiftly leaving her behind.

"Oh my god I am still asleep." She said, clinging to the boy as tight as she could, her eyes snapping shut. "Do you want me to pinch you?" he asked, a laugh bubbling up in his throat. "You promised not to hurt me." She pointed out, forcing down a scream that really wanted to come out.

"That's true." He said, she could feel he was looking at her and she chanced a look up. All she could see was his face and the vast starry sky spanning out behind him. Up above the lights and clouds the stars where so brilliant that each one seemed to brighten the one next to it, Josie was awestruck by the sight eyes opened wide as she took it all in.

"Oh wow." Josie said, her grip loosening a bit. "Feeling better?" he asked, looking around him. Josie followed his gaze and was surprised that she no longer felt afraid. They were positioned just above a massive cloud, her bare toes scraping the cool surface of it.

The whole thing looked like ground. "I really hope this is a dream...If it's not I am really messed up in the head." She laughed, the boy smiling down at her, pulling a blush to her chilled cheeks. "What's your name tree boy?" she asked. He didn't seem to like the tree boy jab but he answered anyway, Josie figured then that she liked it when he scowled.

"Peter, what about you?" he asked, lifting her away from the cloud. Josie gripped him again, swallowing hard. "Josie." She squeaked. "Well Josie, would you like to see where I live?" he asked, Josie felt a strange pull as he lifted them towards space, a pull that made her toes tingle.

"Well, seeing as this is a dream…" she paused for a minute, and he flashed another smile. "Then sure." She said, seeing that no harm could be done if it was a dream. "Hold on tight." He said, Josie wasn't sure if she could hold on any tighter.

But when he lurched forward at incredible speed, the whole world around her becoming a blur as stars shot past them, each one winking at Peter as he sped by. They were heading directly towards the biggest and brightest one, the closer they got the more it looked like an island surrounded by an ocean.

"What on earth?" she said. "Welcome to Neverland!" Peter shouted over the wind, his arms gripping her tighter as they seemed to hit some strange force field.

The pressure felt like to much to Josie, she cried out, the headache she had been trying to ignore coming on in full force. She went to say something to Peter but black spots formed in her eyes and her whole world went dark.

"Josie are you alright?"

||Welcome to chapter 2, enjoy. We are ALMOST to Neverland. At least Josie knows Peter's name now. Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for more!||


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Peter had set Josie down on a soft bed of leaves and ferns, her strange clothes standing out in great contrast against the lush greens of the forest. Sharp rays of light sliced through gigantic leaves casting a green hue across everything.

Peter sat perched atop a rock, legs crossed under him as he stared down at her still form. He knew she was well; very few remained awake when crossing over to Neverland. All was silent around him, no rustle of wings, or roar of the beasts that had once been the normal of this magical place.

Dew clung to the leaves in the early morning air, the small droplets trickling down from the tops to water the plants far below. One particular drop rolled off of a great elephant ear plant, and splashed down upon Josie's face.

The girl woke with a start, sputtering in surprise, feeling as though a whole bucket of water had been splashed across her face. It was close to a bucket, the cups of the great elephant ear plant being able to cradle small children comfortably in its great folds.

"Wha!?" she cried out, trying to scramble to her feet but finding that she was somewhat numb with cold. She lost her footing and tumbled to the ground, the soft mossy ground saving her palms and knees from cuts and scrapes.

"How are you feeling?" an all too familiar voice said from behind her, a moment of rage crawled across her skin, causing the small hairs along her neck to stand on end. "How do you think I feel? I'm half frozen." She said, turning around to look at him.

One solid shaft of green light illuminated his perch; his golden curls tangled, but upon looking at him one would know that trying to fix it would be a folly. He stared back at her, a strange look on his face as she gained her footing, bare toes sinking into the deep moss.

He said no more but waited for her to get her bearings. "Where am I?" she finally asked. Peter paused, looking wistful for a moment. "You are in Neverland, where all lost young souls go." He said, with a crooked grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Souls?" she croaked out, water dripping from the long locks of hair that hung in strands around her face. Peter looked troubled for a moment as if he was trying really hard to figure out what to say next.

"You know, when you ran across the street?" he said, she nodded, thinking hard. She remembered the sound of crunching metal, but the more she thought of it the more pain she felt till she dropped to her knee's the memory ripping through her.

"You didn't make it across." He said, looking down at his dirty hands as Josie went through her memories of that day. How no one paid any attention to her. How her parents weren't home when they should be.

"They were at the hospital." She said, shaking her head. "Talking to me….but I couldn't hear them….everything hurt." She said, confused as to how she could remember being there and at her home at the same time.

"Why did I come here?" she said, Peter looked up from his hands. "You called to me. So I came." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "I guide children's souls to the place beyond Neverland. Some move right on, others choose to stay here till they feel ready. Your soul decided to stay here, with me." He said.

"How can my soul choose?" she said, her voice shaky, arms clasping her middle as she tried to take this all in. "It just knows, before you even know. You could tell me you want to move on right now, but your soul is not ready for that step yet, so here you will remain till it feels ready." He said.

Hey guys, MK here to apologize about this abrupt ending. It wasn't supposed to end like this but I have lost inspiration for this story. I may pick it up in the future but for right now it is at a dead end.

If you enjoy my writings perhaps you should make a suggestion as to what you would like to see from me next? I don't watch/read/play everything so don't be all too disappointed if I don't take your suggestion.

Thanks so much,

Mushroomkitty


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